Authorities say a Delaware County man fatally whipped his 6-year-old nephew with a belt because he wouldn't follow instructions.

Delaware County prosecutors say Paul Adams Jr., 38, beat Tyreece Charlow with a belt for about 45 minutes on Thursday night at the home they shared in Wallingford.

Prosecutors say the deadly beating occurred because Adams was upset that his nephew wasn't getting his school clothes for the next day together quickly enough.

Adams, who police say confessed to the beating, told investigators he started with a smaller belt.

“After several lashings, the defendant decided he wasn’t inflicting enough damage so he went and got a thicker belt,” said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan.

Nether Providence Township police say Adams held the boy's hands and whipped him until he bled, then cleaned his wounds and sent him to bed.

“We also have reason to believe due to the physical injuries that it was beyond a belt beating,” Whelan said. “That his uncle utilized his hands, and/or feet, to kill this child.”

Authorities say Charlow was pronounced dead at a hospital around 5 a.m. Friday after Adams found him unresponsive. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports an autopsy determined the cause of death to be blunt force trauma.

Neighbors remembered Charlow as a well-liked and polite. He was a first grader at Nether Providence Elementary School. Grief counselors were on hand at the school Monday to talk with students.

Adams was held without bail Saturday on charges including first-degree murder and criminal homicide. Court records don't list an attorney for him.

He allegedly told investigators he regretted something.

“He also said that his only regret in this beating was that he drew blood,” Whelan said.